Google's Trademark Lawyers Are Not Happy

Posted on October 30, 2006

Michael Krantz of the official Google blog team addresses the trademark issues the company is facing as the word "google" is increasingly being used as a verb. Krantz gives examples of how the company would like journalists and authors to use the word "google."

Usage: 'Google' as noun referring to, well, us.

Example: "I just love Google, they're soooo cute and cuddly and adorable and awesome!"

Our lawyers say: Good. Very, very good. There's no question here that you're referring to Google Inc. as a company. Use it widely, and hey, tell a friend.

Usage: 'Google' as verb referring to searching for information on, um, Google.

Example: "I googled him on the well-known website Google.com and he seems pretty interesting."

Our lawyers say: Well, we're happy at least that it's clear you mean searching on Google.com. As our friends at Merriam-Webster note, to "Google" means "to use the Google search engine to find information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web."

Usage: 'Google' as verb referring to searching for information via any conduit other than Google.

Example: "I googled him on Yahoo and he seems pretty interesting."

Our lawyers say: Bad. Very, very bad. You can only "Google" on the Google search engine. If you absolutely must use one of our competitors, please feel free to "search" on Yahoo or any other search engine.

Our Trademark Lawyers Say: (After shuddering at the very thought of people using a client company's trademarked name as a verb in any way, shape or form) that Google is facing a big challenge trying to keep the word "google" from eventually being common parlance meaning "to perform an online search using any search engine," and they wish them the very best of luck.

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